Student reaction to tuition proposals
PHOENIX - Dan Fitzgibbon, the chairman of the Arizona Students’ Association, the statewide student organization that represents the 130,000 Arizona public university students, released the following statement regarding the tuition proposals released Friday from the Northern Arizona University, Arizona State University and the University of Arizona:
“After years of steep tuition and fees increases, it is great news to see universities release proposals that include zero percent tuition increases.
Arizona saw the second largest tuition increase last year and some students and families have been completely priced out of a higher education. Events like today show there may be hope that higher education is getting on the right track and students may no longer have to make the terrible decision about whether or not to leave school because of skyrocketing tuition and fees.
Still, graduate students and out-of-state students may see tuition increase. Rebates are also set to expire at NAU and the UA, which will result in increases of $300 at NAU and $750 at the UA. The average Arizona graduate student now leaves school with more than $40,000, while undergrads leave with more than $20,00 in student debt.
ASA will continue to advocate at all levels for affordable and accessible higher education.”
Students call on Legislators to ditch harmful mandatory minimum tuition bill
PHOENIX – Students at all three Arizona public universities are calling on legislators at the Capitol to reject proposed legislation that would make it mandatory for all students to pay $2,000 a year toward school without using any public funds to cover it.
HB2675 will make it mandatory for all students to pay $2,000 a year toward school, but without using any public or private funds to cover this amount. This means students couldn’t use grants, university scholarships, or tuition waivers to cover this amount. The only exceptions for this are athletic scholarships and nationally competitive scholarships.
“The only effect this bill will have is to limit access to our public universities and stunt Arizona’s competitiveness in the global marketplace,” said Dan Fitzgibbon, chair of the Arizona Students’ Association. “Students are already at the financial tipping point, and this bill will force many to consider leaving school or moving out of state.”
Work force projections show that by 2018, there will be jobs for as many as 2.2 million new workers with college degrees. On our current trajectory, we won’t make that goal—in fact we’ll miss it by 3 million workers. This bill will only worsen the situation by adding an unneeded barrier to a higher education.
The piece of legislation stems from the myth that students don’t invest in their higher education. However the total cost of attendance in Arizona, which includes tuition, books and fees, costs an average Arizona family 37 percent of its income.
Students are already saddled with a tremendous debt burden, and total student debt has already outpaced credit card debt.
The average Arizona undergraduate left school with more than $21,000 in debt, according to the Arizona Board of Regents.
“I really can’t afford for this bill to pass,” said UA senior Sara Olivo. “I’m already graduating with mountains of loans and credit card debt, and I’ll have to reconsider if I can afford to go to college in Arizona.”
Veterans are also harmed by the legislation. Last legislative session, a bipartisan group at the Capitol passed a bill granting in-states tuition for all honorably discharged veterans, signaling Arizona’s commitment to educating our nation’s veterans. But, HB2675 has no provision for the GI Bill and gives the negative impression that Arizona isn’t friendly to returning veterans seeking a higher education.
ABOR report shows Arizona in financial aid crisis
TUCSON, Ariz. – Arizona students and families are facing a crisis in how to afford college, a report released by the Arizona Board of Regents Thursday shows.
“The report shows the stark reality facing students and families when it comes to financing a higher education in Arizona,” said Dan Fitzgibbon, chairman of the Arizona Students’ Association. “The universities are doing a great job with the resources they have, but we need more state support to really fix the problem.”
Student loans are the largest source of financial aid “awarded” to students. State-based financial aid only accounts for around one percent of all aid resulting in 47.5 percent of students using loans, which has increased 79 percent in the past 5 years.
Student loans are an enormous burden on students and families, Fitzgibbon said. Recent data from the Project on Student Debt shows that two-thirds of students graduate with student debt nationally. The unemployment rate for recent graduates is 9.1 percent, which makes it harder than ever to pay down debt. According to the report, the average debt for undergraduates is $21,158 and $44,918 for graduate students.
Graduate students saw the biggest increase in indebtedness. Graduate students at Arizona State University average $47,110 in debt.
Still, this is just the debt that the university system tracks and does not take into account private student loans that are not disbursed by Bursar’s offices.
The total cost of attendance is up, which is the real amount students and families pay for school. Alarmingly, there has been a 53 percent increase for students in the lowest income bracket. The increase translates to $2,227 for low-income students. The report shows that out of the 62,153 students who showed need, only 7,699 had their need completely met, while 13,322 students with no financial need were awarded non-need based aid.
“These are tough times for Arizona students because the total cost of attendance is skyrocketing without any additional financial aid support,” said Alisha Raccuia, ASA director and Pell Grant Recipient. “Students and families have paid their fair share – we need more state investment in financial aid so we can graduate more students who can contribute to our state’s economic recovery.”
Statement on the super committee and the Pell Grant
Students continue to call on Congress to support federal financial aid;
7,000 statements of support sent to Sen. Kyl Monday urging support for financial aid
PHOENIX – The super committee in Washington disbanded Monday without a deal on deficit reduction, which means the Pell Grant may be safe from cuts for now, but at the cost of other important federal financial aid programs.
The Arizona Students’ Association continued its campaign to save federal financial aid programs by delivering more than 4,579 signed statements of support to Sen. Kyl Monday, urging him and Congress to stand strong for students and families and support federal financial aid programs. To date, ASA has collected and sent 7,285 signed statements of support to Sen. Kyl.
“Education drives economic growth,” said Dan Fitzgibbon, chair of the Arizona Students’ Association. “Without these vital federal programs, we won’t be able to graduate more skilled professionals and get our economy back on track.”
Federal financial aid programs like the Pell Grant are particularly important to Arizona because the state ranks 49th in the nation for state-based financial aid and students saw tuition increase 39 percent in three years, making it the second largest tuition increase in the nation.
Because the super committee didn’t reach an agreement, the Department of Education faces billions in cuts. Still, the Pell Grant is safe for now, but at the expense of other valuable financial aid programs.
“Until we have a real state-based financial aid system, students like me will have to rely on the Pell Grant as the only way to go to school,” said Alisha Raccuia, ASA board member and Pell Grant recipient. “It doesn’t make sense to save the Pell Grant at the expense of other financial aid programs.”
In Arizona, 38,851 students receive a Pell Grant, data for the Arizona Board of Regents shows.
Students, parents & leaders rallied on campus Wednesday and called on their legislators to stand str
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 23, 2011
Phoenix – Students, parents, and community leaders rallied on university campuses across the state Wednesday and called on their leaders to stand strong for education and to not support cutting university budgets by $235 million.
More than 1,000 students at the UA, NAU, ASU Tempe, ASU Downtown, ASU West and ASU Polytechnic participated in the rally against university budget cuts.
“The Governor and the Legislature must stand strong for higher education and balance the budget and protect the Arizona’s economy without dismantling higher education.” said Arizona Students’ Association Board Chair Elma Delic.
The Senate’s budget proposal seeks to cut university funding by $235 million, $65 million more than the cuts already proposed by Governor Brewer. If passed ASU will be cut $107 million, UA will be cut $92 million and NAU will be cut $36 million.
Students, Advocates Call on Senators McCain and Kyl to Reject Cuts to Education, Pell Grants
PHOENIX - As the U.S. Senate began negotiations to stave off a federal government shutdown, representatives from the Arizona Public Interest Research Group and the Arizona Students’ Association were joined by Moriah Costa, a Pell Grant recipient at Arizona State University, Regent Fred DuVal the Vice-Chair of the Arizona Board of Regents, and Craig Fennell the Executive Director of Student Financial Assistance at ASU to urge the Senate to protect vital investments to college aid and focus their spending on other cuts.
The House-passed spending resolution makes deep cuts to the Pell Grant while largely leaving in place wasteful subsidies and tax loopholes for special interests. Pell Grants are the Federal governments’ cornerstone financial aid program that 9.4 million college students rely on each year to pay for the college courses that are fueling our recovering workforce and economy.
“Tough choices are supposed come only after the easy ones,” said Serena Unrein, Arizona PIRG’s Public Interest Advocate. “It’s unbelievable to imagine how cuts to Pell Grants happen first in a recovering economy. And yet, that’s exactly what the House resolution does.”
The cuts slash the maximum award a student can receive by $845, a little more than 15 percent, for the students who can afford it the least. Next school year, a student currently receiving the $5,550 maximum award would see their aid dropped to $4,705. Because of the severity of these cuts, the average Pell award will drop $785 while 1.7 million students would lose access to their grant entirely.
In Arizona, 555,000 students will receive a Pell grant next year. Should the House spending plan become law, our state will lose $319 million in Pell funding, a cut from $1.74 billion to $1.42 billion.*
“State cuts to higher education have increased tuition, pushing more costs onto students themselves,” said Elma Delic, Board Chair for the Arizona Students’ Association. “Any cuts to Pell funding now, especially in Arizona where state-based financial aid is lacking, will push thousands of students already at the tipping point out of school completely.”
“After graduation I plan on working to make my community better,” said Mariah Costa, a Pell recipient at student at ASU. “If my Pell Grant is cut I will be forced to face some very hard decisions, including dropping out of school altogether.”
Education drives economic growth. Eighty percent of the fastest growing jobs in America demand training above a high school level. Current estimates show America needs 22 million more degrees by 2018, however we are on pace to be 3 million short because of high college costs.
In the current economy, 43 states have already cut funding to higher education, pushing more costs onto students themselves. Rising costs will prevent over three million college qualified students from low and moderate-income backgrounds from getting a degree this decade. Pell Grant funding must be maintained in order to deliver the skilled workers our economy demands.
“State cuts to higher education have put a strain on our ability to train a skilled and educated workforce,” said Regent Fred DuVal. “Cuts to federal aid would surely set Arizona on the wrong path to economic recovery.”
Arizona PIRG has helped identify over $600 billion in spending reductions over 5 years that have support across the political spectrum. The spending reductions detailed in our report amount to more than the reductions called for in the House passed resolution.
“Rather than cutting education and risking the health of our workforce and economic recovery, Congress should focus on other low-hanging fruit,” Unrein said. “We urge Senators McCain and Kyl to vote against any budget extension that includes cuts to Pell grants.”
District and State Pell information can be found here:
http://www.naicu.edu/special_initiatives/federal-student-aid-awarded-in-arizona-state-wide-and-by-congressional-district
Additional information on education cuts in HR 1 can be found at:
http://www.studentaidalliance.org/saa/What’s%20at%20Stake%20HR1.pdf http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3405
* Proprietary school data is counted in the state of the businesses headquarters. All University of Phoenix students are counted in Arizona.
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ASA Reaction to Governor Brewer’s Budget Proposal
Phoenix - Governor Brewer released her Fiscal Year 2012 budget Friday, which included a $170 million proposed cuts to the university system. The Arizona Students’ Association, which is the statewide voice for students at the three universities responded Tuesday with apprehension on the potential impact this could have on Arizona’s students and families.
“I have seen tuition increase 63 percent since I started just three years ago,” said ASA Board Chair Elma Delic, “This means my parents and I have had to come up with an additional $2,700 this year alone, this is something we didn’t plan for when I decided to attend the University of Arizona.”
This latest proposed cut comes after three years of reductions in state appropriations that have resulted in an overall loss of 46 percent of funding per student since 2008, according to the Arizona Board of Regents.
“These cuts have resulted in dramatic increases to tuition and fees, and with the newest proposed cuts we are worried about the impact this will have on the affordability and accessibility of a higher education,” Delic said.
ASA is continuing to advocate for students at the Capitol and at the Arizona Board of Regents and will be hosting a Lobby Conference the first weekend in February and will have its annual Day at the State Capitol February 16.
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University Students Urge Regents Not to Cut AIMS Scholarship
The Arizona Students’ Association (ASA), a statewide advocacy organization representing all of Arizona’s public university students, continues its opposition to proposed cuts in the Regents High Honors Endorsement Award, also known as the AIMS Scholarship. Elma Delic, ASA Board Chair and a student at the University of Arizona, released the following statement:
The Arizona Students’ Association opposes any cuts to financial aid programs, especially when tuition has dramatically increased and Arizona’s students and families planned on receiving this scholarship.
The AIMS Scholarship has provided an incentive to Arizona’s high school students; that if they work hard and pass the AIMS test, they would be rewarded with an academic award in the amount of in-state tuition at any of Arizona’s universities. Many students in Arizona have planned on receiving this scholarship since this program has begun and many are working hard to utilize this as the key to higher education, as can be seen by the steady increase in recipients.
Currently, the AIMS Scholarship is the only form of financial aid that is keeping pace with the dramatic tuition increases over the past few years. In the past three years alone, tuition has increased 63 percent, causing many scholarships to become inadequate.
The concerns of the universities stem from the fact that tuition has dramatically increased causing the AIMS Scholarship to no longer be viable within its current funding mechanism.
“Cutting financial aid should never be used as a cost-saving measure since it directly impacts both accessibility and affordability,” said Delic. “It is therefore the Arizona Board of Regents and the universities’ responsibility to provide due diligence in examining this program prior to making any substantive changes to minimize the harm to any future recipient of the award.
Click here to view the entire student proposal
Click here to view the original proposal from the Arizona Board of Regents
Click here to view the most recent proposal from the Arizona Board of Regents
ASA Launches First Legislative Report Card
ASA Launches First Legislative Report Card. See the press release
2010 Legislative Awards
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 29, 2010
CONTACT
Elma Delic
480.270.2254
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TO HONOR HUPPENTHAL, HEINZ AS LEGISLATORS OF THE YEAR
District Events Planned to Also Honor Student Advocates of the Year
PHOENIX - Directors from the Arizona Students’ Association (ASA) have released the list of 2010 Legislators and Student Advocates of the Year awards to members of the State Legislature for their work on the 2010 ASA Legislative Agenda. The two Legislators of the Year award recipients are Senator John Huppenthal (R-20) and Representative Matt Heinz (D-29). The Student Advocates of the Year awardees include State Representatives Rich Crandall (R-19), Bill Konopnicki (R-5), David Schapira (D-17), Nancy Young-Wright (D-26), and State Senators Paula Aboud (D-28) and Linda Gray (R-10).
“These State Legislators went above and beyond to advance ASA’s legislative agenda,” said Elma Delic, a student at the University of Arizona and Chair of ASA. “It is an honor to award them for standing up for bills important to students.”
The awards were based on criteria gauging sponsorship and support of the 2010 ASA Legislative Agenda, a process that began with ASA establishing legislative priorities, students worked to recruit student stories, gathered research and letters of support, and attended the committee hearings. The bills were drafted by ASA which is a statewide organization that represents the collective voice of Arizona’s public university students.
As advocated by the State Legislators and proposed by ASA, SB1186 will strengthen efforts to ease the transfer of community college credits to the state’s universities by matching course-numbers for 100 and 200 level courses. HB2668 will formalize student government civic engagement efforts with university administration to expand voter access for college students.
The awarding of the plaques will take place at various events as coordinated by students with the respective State Legislators.